ORDRE SOUVERAIN MILITAIRE ET HOSPITALIER
DE SAINT-JEAN DE JERUSALEM DE RHODES ET DE MALTE
_____
MISSION PERMANENTE D’OBSERVATION AUPRÈS DE L’OFFICE DES NATIONS UNIES
ET DES AUTRES ORGANISATIONS INTERNATIONALES À GENÈVE
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
World Health Organization
68th World Health Assembly
General Debate
Geneva, 18 – 26 May 2015
Statement by:
H.E. Ambassador Marie-Thérèse Pictet-Althann
Permanent Observer
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Mr. President,
Madam Director General,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
I am happy to report that during this last year, the Sovereign Order of Malta has been
able to increase its cooperation with WHO in two important areas.
Following our debate on Climate and Health at the 67th World Health Assembly, the
Order of Malta’s humanitarian relief agency, Malteser International, was invited to
participate in the conference organized by WHO in Geneva on Climate and Health in
August 2014. This important event for the global health community concluded that
‘without adequate mitigation and adaptation, climate change poses unacceptable
risks to global public health’.
In the same year, Malteser International started a project plan on climate change and
health for a district in Cambodia, by developing and supporting the local health authorities on a vulnerability assessment and appropriate measures related to climate
change. The necessity in resilience of communities has been and still is an important
aspect in our work in the health sector as well as in water, sanitation and food and
nutrition security. All is linked together and requires a holistic approach to which we
are committed over the coming years.
Furthermore, Malteser International became a member of the Global Health Cluster
in 2014, which is the main global network on health. This will enable us to share
longstanding experience and contribute to preparing the response and assistance in
the recovery from humanitarian emergencies. Malteser International is also part of a
consortium, funded by the European Commission for Humanitarian Aid to provide
surge capacity for the large Level-3 crises we are facing now in several countries.
In response to the recent earthquakes in Nepal the Order of Malta is providing relief
goods for about 20.000 people but also ensuring that the Government of Nepal is
supported in the health sector through our Foreign Medical Team on the ground. It
has just established a field hospital in the Sindhupalchok region, near to the epicenter
of the second severe earthquake.
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In the Middle East the Order of Malta is pursuing its assistance to refugees and
internally displaced persons. In 2014, Malteser International provided medical care
for around 15,000 Syrian refugees and displaced persons in its field hospitals, health
centers and mobile clinics. Nearly 110,000 people additionally received survival
packages, food, household and hygiene items as well as winter clothing. Medical
teams, operated from Turkey in cooperation with Turkish and Syrian partners, provide medical assistance for internally displaced people in northern Syria. Since the
summer of 2014, Malteser International has been supporting the displaced persons in
northern Iraq. Around 23,000 patients received medical assistance from us in the last
year alone. In “Kadia”, the most recently built refugee camp – which is capable of
taking in 25,000 people – we will be opening a further medical center. Alongside the
clinic at camp “Bersevi II”, it will be the second medical center in northern Kurdistan
where we will provide doctors, nurses and carers, as well as medical supplies, to secure the population’s access to healthcare. In Lebanon the Order of Malta has been
assisting Syrian refugees since the beginning of the conflict by offering medical consultations and medicines for free in its Socio-Medical Centers across the country. In
northern Lebanon, a mobile clinic visits and treats both refugees and needy locals in
remote villages. This assistance to Syrian refugees is still ongoing as new projects are
currently under study mainly in the regions of the North and the Beqaa.
Mr. President,
The valuable contribution that faith based organizations make to providing
healthcare is widely acknowledged and appreciated by governments. In some areas
they are the primary source of medical assistance to local populations. The Order of
Malta’s historic mission is to fight poverty and inequalities by helping the sick, the
needy and the most disadvantaged in society. These objectives are achievable through
a coordinated and effective global approach to reduce suffering and vulnerability of
people in need so that they can live a life in good health that is consistent with their
unique human dignity. The Order of Malta therefore fully supports the ongoing efforts by WHO and Member States to ensure that health be a central pillar of the post2015 Development Agenda.
Thank you.
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